Happy New Year.... a little too late

This card really should have been posted last month, but here we are. I made this card for a close work friend who just moved into her first apartment with her boyfriend over the holidays. I was so happy for her and excited for her to start this new chapter with her wonderful guy. I found this adorable background stamp from Michaels and I was going to add some sparkle to it but then chickened out before I could ruin it. Instead, I added the HNY sentiment from Waffle Flower and tried to match the background color. 

Who says simple cards can't be nice?

Overdue Thank You

Well, that was a bit of a hiatus... There was so much going on the last couple of months that it was impossible to sit down and craft.  I even had to *gasp* purchase cards for some events which really annoys me. Last week I did a major cleaning of my desk so hopefully that will inspire me to get crafty again (because God knows I'm still PURCHASING crafting supplies....)

This card was waaaay overdue. It's also the first one I've made in almost 4 months so I had to ease my way back in. The background was made with a stencil I got for my birthday from Waffle Flower. I wanted to make something colorful and upbeat. I thought about dry embossing glitter instead, but I figured I should stick to something foolproof. I'm not sure where the sentiment is from, but I made it in two tones of Blue since this is a thank you card for an incredibly sweet coworker that sent me some Bluey merch for my son. (we're wackadoo obsessed over here, kids) I thought of adding sparkles or embellishments, but then I thought it looked complete as a simple card.   

Have you watched Bluey? It's a daily occurrence in this house and it helps that the show is entertaining for both kids and adults. My husband says it's the Seinfeld of preschool shows. 😁

A Very Penguin Birthday

 September is very a busy time around here! So many important Virgos in my life so it calls for more birthday cards. I took the Penguin Party stamp set from My Favorite Things and went to town. I really love this Stacey Yacula design and honestly, looking at her portfolio, you'll find SO many cute critters. I'm a sucker for these!

My first card was kept very simple because I had to make a video for my work Instagram and I wanted to come up with something that was quick to craft. I am forever trying to find more crafters out there and I was hoping to find other card-makers (alas, none yet). It was also my first attempt at a video tutorial and I must say, my hat is off to the folks who do this every day. It was exhausting! =) I took a stencil and blended Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch oxide for the background. After coloring my critter with copics, I used 3D foam to pop him up. I then cut a sentiment strip from Simon Says Stamp to finish it off. 

For the next one, I wanted to add a little something extra to the background. I heat embossed the polka dot stamp from Photo Play before pretty much following the same formula from above.

For my last card, I decided to try a different color palate.  This background was created using Spun Sugar, Seedless Preserves and Picked Raspberry. I wanted to try the penguins with the cute banner too. In retrospect, I should have created some kind of platform so it doesn't look like they are floating in midair? Next time!

Also, looking at these now, doesn't the color scheme remind you of something? =)

Happy Galentine’s Day!

With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to make cards for two coworkers that I miss very much now that we are all working remotely. 

I used some of the new A2 cards that I ordered from Paper Source and these measure 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 which are very different from the usual 5 x 6 7/8 cards that I craft with. I have to admit, it's a challenge having a smaller canvas to work with, but I really liked it! I may order more. (And honestly, I’ll have to because these belonged to my Cards for Kindness stash... oops)

I used this kitty Penny Black stamp for my first card. And of course, I forgot to write down which copics I used to color it. The hearts and sentiment are from Lawn Fawn dies I bought over holiday break. 

For my second card, I wanted to use one of the million Whimsy Stamp penguins that I spent so long coloring. For the record, I really hate fussy cutting images. Now I know why people spend so much on coordinating stamps and dies! 

Copic colors: C00, C1, C5, C7, C9, R20 and colorless blender. Still not 100% in love with the coloring, but getting there. 

For the background, I embossed the hearts using a Hampton Art stamp with Recollections white detail powder. Then I blended Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw distress ink over it. Lastly, I used the Lawn Fawn sentiment die.

Here’s to celebrating Galentine’s Day! 

Adventures in Watercolor!

Apparently, March was National Craft month. OK?! I had to do something about it! I wanted to do something like that Valentine's Day card making class I did with my friend Gale at Paper Source so long ago. Unfortunately, she couldn't join me but I decided to sign up for an Easter card making class anyway. Suffice to say, it wasn't as enjoyable and I've decided not to write about that particular experience.

However, they mentioned having a class on water color creations and I knew I wanted to try that.

How lovely do these projects look?

A few Facebook comments later, I had five friends signed up with me and we actually ended up being the whole class apart from one other person. So it definitely felt like a private class. I find that these experiences are better if you do it with a buddy.

Ignore our plug for Subway there. We all had cravings after work!

Our supplies and some examples for us to draw inspiration from 

Our instructor showed us some water color techniques before we started which honestly, wasn't much. She was chatty and informal and while it made for a comfortable atmosphere, I remember thinking that the instructor at the Upper West Side Paper Source seemed more professional and knowledgable. Each experience is subjective and each Paper Source store works autonomously. While this location is close to my job, I may try to explore other venues.

Soon we were off to work!

Chloe was looking forward to creating her poster with the water colors!

The Force was however not strong with water colors.... Tracy stuck to stamping and embossing ;-)

Jennifer had clear goals! She needed a birthday and anniversary card!

It got a bit messy....

I just love Rachel's face here....

All in all, did I enjoy watercolors?


Hmmmm.... no. I went into it thinking it would be similar to Copics but I was dead wrong. First off, the amount of control you have with water colors is very limited. I kept over saturating my paper until it curled up into useless messes. Then blending wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Usually with Copics, I just keep adding color until I like the blend, but I couldn't do that here. I used regular brushes as well as their special water color ones that had water already in the brush- all I had to do was squeeze. No luck with either method. The one thing I walked away from was kind of hideous, but at least it was a good learning experience!

I got the song in your head, didn't I?

I did however discover these wonderful Martha Stewart glitter pens that I purchased with the 10% off coupon they give you after every class so it wasn't a total loss.

The girls had way better luck!

She may not like water colors, but Tracy will be invited to the next embossing event!

"I Am Inimitable" from the best song in HAMILTON. No really, it's the BEST  song.

Rachel is the sweetest...

Jennifer's water color birthday card came out lovely!

My coworkers have problems with expletives, but didn't Melanie's rainbow come out so well?

So maybe I won't be adding water coloring to my card making repertoire, but that doesn't mean I didn't totally enjoy this random Wednesday night with friends!

Boss Birthdays

I started my current job last July. If you knew me in college, you knew that I had always dreamed of being in publishing. All of those 2000's rom-coms of city gals jetting to work in heels holding a Starbucks coffee in one hand and the paper in the other just got to me. Plus, I was an English major, so it was very fitting. (FYI: I don't even drink coffee and I usually have a book, not the paper with me!)

It took me a really long time and lots of frustrating jobs to get to where I am today. And I'm no fool, either. I know I am hella lucky to have gotten here and by here I mean Children's Publishing. I also know that finding a boss that is both friend and mentor is like hitting the Mega Millions. It's.Not.Easy.

But here I am!

So for her birthday, I wanted to make something special. At this point, it was only about a month and a half in so I was still getting to know her. I wanted it to be sophisticated with a floral palate.

For this, I found a really pretty cherry blossom pattern at Michael's so I used that for the bottom. The trim is from Martha Stewart of course and I used some embellishments that I had in my trusty box.

For her actual present, I wanted to do something she could use at work. She has an adorable daughter so I figured instead of just getting a frame, I would make one. Using that same Cherry Blossom pattern, I cut them out in little triangles and pasted them onto a regular frame. I then used a basic pink distress pattern for contrast. She really liked it which was a relief!

Here's a closer look at the collage. 

Valentine's Day 2016

This year, I took the rest of my crafting supplies out of storage. One of the things I uncovered was my Cuttlebug! I forgot how much I loved that thing and along with some Spellbinder Nestabilities dies, I made most of my Valentine's this year with them. JP went to New Jersey one weekend to hang out with his cousins, so I watched girly movies all Saturday and Sunday while making these.  Along with die cuts, I used lots of powder and glittering embossing. Overall, I was very happy with how they came out!

Also, if anyone was wondering, the movies I watched were as follows:

• Sabrina (my all time favorite girly flick ever. (The remake though) I'm a sucker for Harrison Ford in a bow tie!
• Bridget Jones' Diary
• The Wedding Date
• Notting Hill
• Cruel Intentions
• Mystic Pizza
• Hannah and her Sisters

Critters and Cupcakes

I still had some Valentine's Day cards I wanted to make and for that, I turned to my Penny Black Critters stamps. I cannot say enough just how much I adore Penny Black! Plus, it gave me the chance to whip out my Copics which I haven't done in forever and am SO rusty as a result. I have to go back and look at old youtube videos and blogs of how to do just simple shading. It was nice practice though. I also did some embossing and blending with Distress Inks.

I did this one Saturday while watching all of season 1 of Grey's Anatomy. The show might be a bit worn out now, but back in the day, it sure did a great job at mixing humor with drama. Plus, I will always love McDreamy. =)